electronicsuk

Hi all. I have iVMS 4200 installed and running with five cameras. Storage server, iVMS client and stream server all installed on one machine. The server PC has two network ports, one onto the wider internet, and another onto an isolated VLAN with just the cameras. I want to be able to play back content from the storage server on a physically remote machine. Remove view would be nice too, but not essential. To keep things simple, I'm using a remote machine on the same LAN to begin with. I have iVMS 4200 installed on the remote PC, and can get it to see the storage server. However, when I go to the remote playback screen in iVMS, there are no cameras listed. If I've understood what I've read elsewhere on this forum, each individual camera needs to be set up again as an encoding device on the remote machine. As I understand it, this works by using stream server on the main NVR PC to pass a stream for each camera back out to one or more remote clients. Unfortunately, my remote client doesn't seem to be able to see the stream server. I suspect this is because the stream server is bound to the VLAN network interface and not the wider LAN, therefore it isn't visible to my remote PC. It seems that stream server will only receive and then send streams back out on the same network interface. So, is this how it's all supposed to work? Sounds a bit crackers to me if each camera really does have to be added as an encoding device on every remote client. How would that work on a large installation with 50+ cameras?! If it true, is there any way to forward streams back out on the LAN interface without compromising the VLAN and making the IP cameras directly visible to the wider network?

Hi chaps. As the title suggests, is anyone aware of any HD (ideally 1080p) box cameras that will accept an analogue mic input at the camera and encode it, along with the video, and send out via HD-SDI? I have an old Everfocus EQH5000 that I thought would do the job, but looking at the manual, the mic input is labelled as a "future feature". Short of finding a camera with this feature built-in, has anyone come across a reasonably priced encoder that will add audio to an HD-SDI video stream? Thanks again Matt

Thanks guys. A security light isn't really the preferred option as the system is supposed to be relatively covert, but if its the only sensible option then it doesn't leave me with a lot of choice. I've taken a look through the spec sheet for the camera and there's no mention of IR response, the closest thing is the light level required for operation of the camera in lux.

Hello guys. This is my first post here, so please bear with me! Just this weekend I installed a CCTV camera for a relative who'd been having trouble with youths congregating outside his home. The camera itself is nothing special, just a small monochrome PIR unit from Wickes, chosen because the price was right and I've also got four similar colour PIR units around the house which do a pretty good job for what they cost. Now, during the daytime the camera provides a perfectly acceptable picture, and I made the assumption that under normal streetlit conditions the camera would give acceptable night time performance, at least equal to or better than what I get on my colour units back at home. What I didn't notice at the time of installation was that there aren't really any street lights nearby, and apparently even the cloest one has been out for months. So, I've got to find a way to get good enough night time performance out of the camera to be able to keep an eye on the car outside the house (approx. 3-4 metres away) and, if possible, a little further afield. I suggested installating a PIR floodlight, but since the problems are occurring at the front of the house it would probably get a lot of nuisance triggering and look a little too conspicuous. You're probably getting the idea by now... I need suitable IR illumination for the camera. I've had a look through my CPC catalogue and a few web sites (including eBay) and there's a lot of choice. I've seen a few LED-based units and they seem like a fairly attractive solution given the low power consumption, no emission of visible light, and low price point. For example, CPC code SR04439 claims to be a 10m infra-red source for only £45. Now, I'm into electronics and I know the sort of performance LEDs provide in the visible spectrum, but haven't got a clue when it comes to IR. Would I be wasting my time with such a purchase? I'm on a budget, but I wouldn't want to waste money on something that isn't going to provide the performance increase I promise. Then there's also the (what I assume are) more typical units that aren't based around LEDs. I don't claim to know how these work, but they seem to be the type used in most commercial applications and emit a small amount of red light in the visible spectrum. I'd imagine these perform better, but the higher initial and running costs make them slightly less attractive for this particular application. In conclusion, what would you guys recommend? What sort of range can I expect and for what price? Does anyone have any examples to show the difference between camera with and without IR illumination? Cheers, Matthew